The  Advantages  of  a 
Settled  Pastorate 


BV     ^ 

Rev.  NEWTON  H.  ROYER,  A.  M 

Rrookville.  Ohio 


(*     DEC  29  1908 


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^-''^ISSi.u  .rUV^ 


.i>Mi:i>    rwK    THK   AUTHOR    AT   THE   REQUEST  OF   THE   FACVI.TV 
AND  STUDENTS  OF  HAMMA  DIVINITY  SCHOOL, 
SPRINGFIELD,    OHIO 


PHII^DELPHIA,  PA. 

I^UTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


mam 


d  .OS 


10 


PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


BV  660  .R69 
Royer,  Newton  H. 
The  advantages  of  a  settle 
pastorate 


The  Advantages  of  a 
Settled  Pastorate 


Rev.  NEWTON  H.  ROYER,  A.  M, 

Brookville,  Ohio 


PUBLISHED   FOR   THE  AUTHOR   AT  THE   REQUEST   OF   THE   FACULTY 

AND   STUDENTS   OF   HAMMA  DIVINITY  SCHOOL, 

SPRINGFIELD,    OHIO 


PHIIvADEl<PHIA,  PA. 

LUTHERAN  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 


[copyright,  1907,  BY   NEWTON   H.  ROYER.] 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

The  lecture  published  herewith  was  prepared  at  the 
request  of  the  faculty  of  the  Hamma  Divinity  School, 
and  delivered  before  the  students,  faculty,  and  friends, 
during  the  seminary  year  of  1905-1906.  It  created 
deep  interest,  and  was  deemed  worthy  of  publication  by 
those  in  attendance.  It  was  thought  that  it  would  be 
valuable  in  the  creation  of  abetter  estimate  of  the  value, 
dignity,  and  permanency  of  the  pastoral  office.  Ac- 
cordingly, by  the  unanimous  action  of  the  faculty,  stu- 
dents, and  pastors  present,  such  publication  was  re- 
quested. 

The  author  of  the  address,  Rev.  Newton  H.  Royer,  is 
esteemed  as  one  of  our  most  successful  pastors,  and  is 
warranted  to  speak  upon  the  subject  from  the  fact  that 
he  has  just  entered  upon  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  first 
and  only  pastorate. 

David  H.  Bauslin. 

Hamma  Divinity  School, 
Springfield,  Ohio, 
November,  1906. 


The  Advantages  of  a 
Settled  Pastorate. 


If  the  Church  is  a  divine  institution,  the  office  of 
the  ministry  is  a  divine  commission. 

The  priesthood  was  no  more  essential  to  the  edifica- 
tion and  preservation  of  the  Jewish  nation  as  a  godly 
people,  than  is  the  ministry  to  the  Christian  Church, 
which  is  the  custodian  of  the  faith  delivered  to  the 
saints  ;  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth. 

The  choice  of  the  twelve  apostles  by  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  and  the  divine  selection  of  another,  after  the 
apostasy  and  suicide  of  Judas  to  complete  the  number, 
twelve,  is  sufficient  proof  that  certain  men  were  sent  of 
God  to  accomplish  a  specific  and  important  work. 
These  twelve  were  especially  trained  by  their  Master, 
and  what  they  proclaimed,  ordained  ministers  to-day  are 
to  preach,  but  as  to  polity  and  methods  we  find  no  abso- 
lute directions  in  the  Book,  which  is  the  infallible  rule 
for  faith  and  practice. 

The  form  of  government  which  may  best  subserve  the 
interests  of  the  Church  in  one  land  may  prove  to  be 
altogether  inefficient  in  another,  and  the  methods  em- 
ployed in  one  age  may  be  wholly  unsuitable  for  the  suc- 
ceeding generation. 


4  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

Our  Lord  trained  and  equipped  the  apostles  for  their 
work,  and  then  commanded  them/*  Go  preach,"  "  Bear 
testimony  to  these  things,"  but  in-  what  particular  local- 
ity, or  in  how  many  vicinities  tkeir  witness-bearing  zvas 
to  be  accomplished,  their  Master  did  not  specify.  Those 
same  conditions  obtain  in  our  schools  of  theology  to- 
day. The  training,  instruction,  and  equipment,  which 
candidates  for  the  ministry  receive  in  our  seminaries  are 
par  excellence  ;  but  the  work  of  our  religious  instructors 
is  finished  when  young  men  are  graduated  ;  they  can 
but  send  them  forth  into  the  world,  as  Christ  sent  the 
apostles,  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

The  denomination  in  which  our  lives  have  been  con- 
secrated does  not  guarantee  any  minister  a  pastorate, 
nor  does  it  designate  precisely  where  he  is  to  ''pitch 
his  tent,"  or  when  he  is  to  ''pull  up  stakes."  The 
Lutheran  Church  permits  ample  room  for  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  exercise  of  individual  lib- 
erty. The  Church  has  a  right  to  dictate  in  some  things, 
but  not  in  all  things.  It  is  the  prerogative  of  our  Church 
to  insist  that  her  ministers  shall  not  preach  doctrines 
which  are  incompatible  with  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
because  she  believes  that  the  Confession  of  the  great  re- 
former gives  the  best  exhibition  and  the  purest  interpre- 
tation of  God's  revelation  to  the  children  of  men  ;  but 
where  her  ordained  servants  are  to  expound  the  inspired 
word,  to  what  people  they  are  to  break  the  bread  oi 
life,  in  what  particular  community  they  are  to  devote 
their  lives,  is  for  them   to  determine,  not  the  Church. 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  5 

And  while  the  Lutheran  Church  is  not  stereotyped 
in  her  forms,  and  gives  the  largest  liberty  in  things 
unessential,  yet  she  expects  her  constituency  and  or- 
dained ministry  to  pursue  that  course  and  adopt  those 
methods  which  are  in  harmony  with  her  polity  in  any 
country. 

I  presume  that  no  Lutheran  minister  would  attempt 
to  defend  the  itinerant  system,  for  there  surely  is  no 
more  Scriptural  authority  for  an  itinerating  ministry 
binding  on  us  than  for  the  setting  out  of  young  preach- 
ers without  trunk,  scrip,  and  purse,  although  quite  a 
number  may  be  obliged  so  to  do  to-day. 

In  Paul's  oversight  over  the  newly-established 
churches  there  is  no  more  foundation  for  a  bishopric,  as 
we  find  it  in  some  Protestant  denominations,  than  was 
Paul's  experience  at  his  conversion,  the  ground  on  which 
we  may  justly  insist  that,  every  individual  at  conversion 
must  experience  blindness,  fasting,  and  prostration.  The 
Church  was  then  in  its  formative  period.  That  was  the 
day  of  evangelization  in  a  special  sense,  the  day  of  its 
infancy.  The  methods  then  in  vogue  are  no  longer 
applicable  and  useful. 

The  principle  of  a  long  pastorate  we  find  in  the  con- 
stitution of  things,  and  the  names  applied  to  God's  se- 
lect laborers  and  teachers  all  indicate  the  plan  and  pur- 
pose of  God  as  to  the  duration  of  a  servant's  labors  in 
a  given  place,  such  as  pastor,  minister,  shepherd,  over- 
seer, etc. 

We  find  nothing  in  the  whole  range  of  the  Scriptures, 


6  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

either  in  doctrine  or  method,  to  support  the  itinerant 
system  of  serving  the  Church.  There  are  no  modern 
conditions  which  render  the  itineracy  advisable  or  de- 
sirable. It  is  true  that  no  ironclad  rule  can  be  laid 
down  to  govern  all  men  in  the  ministry  in  this  particu- 
lar, for  there  are  some  ministers  who  have  marked  ex- 
ecutive ability,  unusual  organizing  capacity,  who  have 
the  ''  collecting  instinct  "  ;  who  are  more  successful  in 
gathering  dollars  into  the  Lord's  coffers  than  in  edifying 
believers,  who  can  establish  a  congregation  but  cannot 
perpetuate  its  existence.  When  such  men  have  com- 
pleted the  work  for  which  they  have  peculiar  qualifica- 
tions, it  may  be  wise  for  them  to  seek  new  fields  of 
labor.  Undoubtedly  there  are  instances,  too,  on  ac- 
count of  peculiar  conditions,  that  a  pastor  should  resign, 
even  though  he  has  labored  but  a  few  years  in  the 
charge,  but  such  cases  are  comparatively  rare. 

Generally  speaking,  a  settled  pastorate  is  decidedly 
advantageous,  and  when  you  sum  up  the  arguments  on 
both  sides  of  this  question,  the  Scriptures  and  experi- 
ence decide  the  preponderance.  We  ought  not  to  be 
surprised,  therefore,  that  the  Lutheran  Church  is  on  the 
right  side  of  this  question  in  theory.  But  why  is  it  that 
the  great  majority  of  our  ministers  do  not  serve  any  con- 
gregation more  than  four  or  five  years  ?  Why  is  there 
so  much  candidating  ?  Why  are  so  many  ministers  for- 
ever looking  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  pastorates, 
not  so  much  for  larger  fields  of  labor,  as  for  taller  clo- 
ver ?     Why  are  they  not  content  to  settle  down  in  some 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  7 

pastorate,  and  leave  a  definite  and  permanent  impress  on 
at  least  one  locality,  rather  than  to  make  fleeting  im- 
pressions on  a  score  ?  How  are  we  to  account  for  this 
spirit  of  restlessness  among  the  clergy?  Have  they  im- 
bibed the  characteristic  spirit  of  the  age  ?  How  are  we 
to  explain  this  disposition  among  so  many  to  move  from 
place  to  place?  Might  finance  or  personal  ambition 
have  more  to  do  with  their  conduct  than  a  call  from  on 
high? 

One  of  the  elders  of  a  certain  congregation  rang  the 
door  bell  at  his  pastor's  home,  and  was  greeted  by  the 
little  son.  "  Johnnie,"  said  the  elder,  ''  where  is  your 
papa?"  The  boy  answered,  '' Papa  is  in  his  study 
praying,  asking  God  to  guide  him  that  he  may  rightly 
answer  his  call  to  a  larger  city."  ''Well,"  said  the 
elder,  ''where  is  your  mother?"  "Oh,"  said  the 
boy,  "she  is  up -stairs  packing  the  trunks  to  move." 
Might  that  story  be  true  of  more  than  one  ?  Is  it  not  a 
fact  that  those  ministers  who  are  constantly  resigning  to 
accept  another  call,  to  whom  someone  has  justly  given 
the  name,  "  ecclesiastical  hobo,"  seldom  improve  their 
opportunities,  and  very  frequently  handicap  themselves 
and  work  harm  to  pastorates  ?  There  are  so  many 
preachers,  like  children,  who  imagine  that  any  place  is 
better  than  the  one  where  they  have  taken  up  their 
habitation,  and  every  time  they  resign  they  are  certain 
of  leaving  Vinegartown  and  setting  out  for  Honeyville 
— that  they  are  shaking  the  dust  of  a  thorn  patch  off 
their  feet,  and  are  soon  to  tread  the  streets  of  an  earthly 


8  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

paradise.  We  have  heard  of  some  men  who  boast  of 
their  ability  to  move  from  one  charge  to  another  hur- 
riedly, with  the  utmost  expedition  and  without  much  ex- 
ertion. They  have  the  proper  number  of  boxes  of  suit- 
able size  for  all  their  earthly  possessions — from  stove 
polish  to  their  life-size  portrait  of  Luther,  who  they 
are  anxious  shall  see  as  much  of  this  country  as  possi- 
ble. Sometimes  I  am  tempted  to  think  that  it  would 
be  a  splendid  thing  if  such  men  were  to  be  caught  up  as 
Philip  was,  and  translated,  not  to  Azotus,  but  to  the 
New  Jerusalem,  for  they  would  gain  a  great  deal,  and 
the  Church  sustain  but  little  loss.  It  seems  to  me  no 
foundation  can  be  discovered  in  the  Bible,  in  experience, 
nor  in  wisdom  on  which  to  build  tenable  arguments  in 
favor  of  short  pastorates. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  ascertain  what  are  some  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  settled  pastorates.  They  are  many  and  im- 
portant, both  to  the  pastor  and  the  pastorate.  First,  to 
the  pastor,  because  he  develops  more  thoroughly,  and 
consequently  becomes  a  more  capable  and  efficient 
preacher  and  pastor.  A  preacher  who  serves  a  congre- 
gation but  a  few  years  will,  after  his  first  pastorate,  be 
sorely  tempted  to  visit  "  the  barrel,"  and  to  depend  on 
sermons  which  he  previously  prepared  for  another  peo- 
ple. His  duties  in  a  new  field  of  labor  will  be  manifold, 
urgent,  diverse,  and  particularly  absorbing  because  of 
the  novelty  which  a  change  of  environment  always  pre- 
sents. He  must  acquaint  himself  with  the  people  in  the 
church  and  out  of  it ;  he  must  ascertain  the  locations  o 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  9 

their  residences ;  he  must  familiarize  himself  with  the 
disposition  and  peculiar  temperament  of  each  parish- 
ioner ;  he  must  also  learn  some  of  the  history  of  the 
place,  and  there  are  characteristic  features  as  well  as 
peculiar  conditions  in  each  community  concerning 
which  he  must  inform  himself,  and  these,  with  other 
duties,  preclude  the  possibility  of  careful  and  systematic 
study,  and  proper  preparation  for  the  pulpit. 

In  a  new  pastorate  a  preacher  finds  himself  in  the 
midst  of  many  disadvantages.  Every  day  he  spends  a 
great  deal  of  time  informing  himself  concerning  matters 
of  which  his  predecessor  had  certain  knowledge,  and 
because  he  is  not  conversant  with  the  history  of  the 
people,  he  misdirects  and  wastes  a  great  deal  of  energy 
which  should  be  given  to  mental  enrichment  and  the 
development  of  his  pastorate. 

The  professor  of  Greek  and  Hebrew  in  Wittenberg 
Theological  Seminary  once  told  our  class  that  if  a 
preacher  would  not  apply  himself  diligently  to  his  studies 
''he  would  soon  pump  muddy  water."  The  thought 
which  he  expressed  in  figure  has  its  correspondence  in 
fact. 

The  ' '  dead  line  ' '  must  early  come  to  the  man  who 
fails  to  work  assiduously  in  his  study,  and  that  does  not 
mean  beguiling  the  time  over  newspapers  and  readable 
magazines,  but  hard  work.  With  his  college  and  semi- 
nary training  for  a  foundation,  if  he  fail  to  work  out  his 
own  system  of  theology  in  accordance  with  the  creed  to 
which    he  has  subscribed,   his  growth  will  soon  cease 


lo  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

and  he  will  be  doomed  to  a  premature   mental  grave. 
Short  pastorates  render  such  study  impossible. 

But  it  is  not  only  lack  of  time,  through  the  pressure 
of  numerous  and  onerous  duties  of  a  new  charge,  which 
interferes  with  the  systematic  development  of  the  mind. 
The  Scriptures  are  so  ri-ch  in  themes,  so  many-sided  in 
their  revealed  truths,  so  inexhaustible  in  their  fullness, 
that  the  traveling  preacher  can  only  set  forth  and  apply 
a  small  portion  of  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  Besides, 
the  people  of  his  next  pastorate  are  very  likely  to  get 
precisely  the  same  portion,  and  by  that  time  it  will  not 
be  palatable  food  for  the  soul  so  much  as  spiritual  "  hard- 
tack." 

Somewhere  I  read  the  statement,  by  one  who  had  the 
time  and  took  the  pains  to  make  the  inquiry,  that  the 
ministers  who  have  served  the  same  pastorate  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  are  the  ones  who  have  continued  their 
study  of  Greek  and  Hebrew.  This  is  right  to  the  point. 
The  reason  is  obvious,  because  the  pastors  who  preach 
to  the  same  people  year  after  year  must  depend  espec- 
ially on  the  unsearchable  riches  of  divine  truth,  and 
there  are  only  two  avenues  to  the  heart  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  viz.,  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages,  and 
the  Scriptures, — these  two  are  the  unfailing  fountain  of 
all  riches  to  the  preacher. 

A  few  years  after  I  entered  the  ministry,  one  of  my 
parishioners  requested  me  to  preach  on  the  subject  of  pre- 
destination (the  ancestors  of  the  person  in  question  hav- 
ing belonged  to  the  Presbyterian  Church),  and  I  prom- 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  II 

ised  her  the  sermon  in  a  fortnight,  but  instead  it  was 
ahnost  six  months  before  I  had  finished  the  sermon,  and 
then  only  after  I  had  examined  all  the  passages  bearing 
on  the  subject  in  the  original  languages.  Several  years 
ago  another  member  asked  me  to  prepare  a  sermon  on 
the  subject  of  perdition.  At  once  I  addressed  myself  to 
the  task  of  investigating  all  the  commentaries  in  my  pos- 
session and  found  that,  on  the  verses  concerning  which 
I  needed  information,  they  were  as  silent  as  the  place 
itself.  Then  I  proceeded  to  re-read  Dante's  '*  Inferno  ' ' 
and  Pollok's  ''Course  of  Time."  I  perused  Haley's 
"  Hereafter  of  Sin,"  and  everything  that  I  could  secure 
that  had  any  relation  to  the  subject,  and  again,  I  found 
that  the  original  languages  rendered  me  more  assistance 
than  all  other  sources  combined. 

A  long  pastorate  simply  drives  a  man  to  the  study  of 
the  original  languages  if  he  would  preach  living  sermons 
to  his  people.  The  preacher  who  expects  to  remain  a 
number  of  years  in  one  pastorate  will  ever  be  conscious 
of  the  deep  and  varied  needs  of  his  congregation.  He 
will  anticipate  the  spiritual  necessities  of  his  people,  and 
he  Avill  select  his  themes  accordingly,  and  in  their  devel- 
opment his  heart  will  be  enriched  and  his  mind  trained 
in  the  relation  of  truth  to  truth  and  doctrine  to  doctrine, 
and  thus  he  will  become  a  safe  leader  and,  eventually,  an 
authoritative  expounder  of  the  deep  things  of  God,  and 
a  man  whose  knowledge  the  people  will  respect  and  to 
whom  they  will  look  with  confidence. 

He  who  preaches  to  a  different  congregation   every 


12  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

few  years,  not  only  is  not  so  well  qualified,  but  he  is  like 
a  marksman  who  shoots  in  the  dark,  for  it  requires  as 
much  wisdom  to  know  what  to  omit  as  what  to  present 
in  a  sermon. 

The  settled  pastor  not  only  grows  mentally,  but  his 
influence  is  steadily  enlarged,  and  this  is  a  tremendous 
advantage.  It  is  a  serious  mistake  to  suppose  that  a 
pastor  must  live  in  a  large  number  of  towns  in  order  to 
become  acquainted  with  all  the  various  temperaments  of 
humanity.  There  are  not  so  many  in  each  class,  but 
there  is  as  great  a  number  of  human  types  in  Brookville 
as  there  is  in  Chicago,  and  I  have  just  as  many  oppor- 
tunities for  the  study  of  men,  women,  and  children,  as 
a  pastor  has  in  New  York,  and  the  people  of  a  village 
or  town  are  as  susceptible,  as  capable  of  develop- 
ment in  every  way  as  the  inhabitants  of  a  metrop- 
olis. It  is  not  a  question  of  place,  then,  but  oj 
time,  for  knowledge  of  people  comes  slowly.  Ac- 
quaintance with  the  history  of  individuals  or  families, 
of  their  relations  to  each  other,  comes  even  more 
slowly,  and  yet  such  knowledge  is  absolutely  essential 
to  any  minister  who  would  do  a  work  which  is  to  be 
permanent  and  who  would  equip  himself  for  the  highest 
usefulness. 

I  am  altogether  certain  that  the  pastor  who  has  faith- 
fully served  the  same  people  for  fifteen  years  is  far  better 
qualified  to  continue  his  ministrations  to  that  same  con- 
gregation than  any  other  of  equal  ability,  and  that  he 
can  assume  the  work  of  another  pastorate  with  greater 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  13 

success  than  the  man  who  has  served  five  charges  during 
the  same  number  of  years. 

Difficulties  have  arisen  during  the  last  year  in  my 
pastorate  which  were  not  anticipated  and  which  were 
different  in  character  from  any  which  preceded  them 
during  a  ministry  of  thirteen  years — difficulties  which 
could  not  have  been  so  satisfactorily  overcome  had  it 
not  been  for  my  long  experience  in  the  pastorate  and 
my  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  people  and  their 
relations  to  each  other. 

To  a  faithful  pastor  each  successive  year  will  prove  to 
be  more  fruitful  of  good  than  its  predecessor,  and  the 
reasons  are  not  far  to  seek.  The  cumulative  strength, 
the  disciplined  mind,  the  solution  of  many  problems  of 
a  varied  nature,  the  increased  knowledge  of  human 
character,  the  thorough  acquaintance  with  local  condi- 
tions which  a  settled  pastorate  gives  to  any  preacher 
who  works  and  studies,  is  the  answer  to  the  whole 
matter. 

A  settled  pastorate  is  advantageous  also  in  this,  that 
it  develops  the  ability  of  a  man  to  adapt  himself  to  the 
changing  conditions  of  his  pastorate  and  the  community 
in  which  he  labors.  All  the  methods  which  are  success- 
ful in  one  pastorate  are  never  equally  useful  in  another. 
Vicinities  and  congregations  differ  of  necessity,  and 
the  elements  which  differentiate  one  congregation  from 
another  may  require  years  to  master  and  control.  It  is 
also  true  that  the  same  community  and  pastorate  change 
vastly.     The  methods  which  were  quite  successful  dur- 


14  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

ing  the  first  years  of  my  ministry  are  no  longer  adequate 
in  the  same  congregation.  The  same  principles  are 
operative,  but  their  expression  has  materially  changed. 
Thus  I  have  had  to  learn  to  adapt  myself  and  my 
methods  to  the  changing  Conditions  of  the  passing 
years.  Through  long  years  in  the  same  pastorate  a 
minister  better  learns  how  to  lead  his  flock,  how  to 
direct  the  work  of  the  Master,  to  meet  emergencies,  to 
supply  needs,  and  to  be  an  efficient  overseer. 

Again,  a  settled  pastorate  teaches  a  pastor  self-control 
and  discretion.  I'  do  not  mean  adroitness,  but  a  sincere 
judiciousness.  He  will  eventually  learn  that,  if  he 
hopes  to  exercise  a  salutary  influence,  he  must  not  only 
be  as  ingenious  as  a  spider  and  as  diligent  as  an  ant, 
but  also  as  harmless  as  a  dove  and  as  wise  as  a  serpent. 

In  a  pastorate  and  community  there  is  no  clerical 
requisite  so  telling,  no  qualifications  so  confidence- 
inspiring,  no  acquirement  so  indispensable  for  holding 
the  respect  of  the  people,  and  the  successful  accomplish- 
ment of  the  work  of  the  Lord,  as  self-control,  restraint, 
and  balance.  The  ministerial  rover  will  suffer  little  as 
the  result  of  his  imprudent  conversation  and  his  indis- 
creet conduct  because  it  requires  some  time  for  opposi- 
tion to  crystallize  against  a  pastor,  and  by  that  time  the 
ecclesiastical  wanderer  has  packed  his  effects  and  gone 
to  scenes  of  fresh  troubles.  But  when  a  minister 
preaches  to  a  congregation  to-day  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  he  will,  in  all  probability,  proclaim  the  gospel 
to  the  same  people  ten  years  hence  ;  when  he  makes  a 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  15 

pastoral  call  feeling  in  his  heart  that  he  is  likely  to  enter 
that  home  many  years  afterward,  he  will  be  very 
cautious  as  he  mingles  with  the  people  in  any  of  the  very 
many  possible  relations,  he  will  guard  his  tongue,  watch 
his  acts,  even  his  facial  expressions,  lest  he  leave  a  dele- 
terious impression  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people  whom 
he  has  been  commissioned  to  bless. 

Another  benefit  of  a  settled  pastorate  is  the  purifica- 
tion of  a  preacher's  purposes  and  the  sanctification  of 
his  incentives.  The  ''  new  minister  "  in  a  pastorate  has 
no  difficulty  in  securing  a  large  audience  and  gaining 
the  attention  of  the  congregation.  He  will  be  the  out- 
standing man  of  the  community  for  several  months, 
while  there  is  nothing  novel  about  the  old  pastor  whose 
presence  creates  no  stir,  no  comment,  no  temporary 
increase  in  attendance.  He  may  be  tempted  to  think 
that  he  would  be  more  useful  and  diligent  in  another 
charge,  but  such  temptations  are  to  be  withstood, 
remembering  that  a  new  broom  sweeps  well.  Prompted 
by  curiosity,  large  numbers  may  go  to  hear  a  strange 
minister,  but  such  motives  early  cease  to  actuate,  and 
if  the  people  continue  regularly  to  attend  the  house  of 
God,  it  is  not  because  he  is  a  new  comer,  but  a  faithful 
preacher  of  the  word.  When  once  the  novelty  of  the 
minister  wears  off  and  the  curiosity  of  the  people  wanes, 
when  the  strangeness  of  his  voice  ceases  to  fascinate, 
and  the  congregation  becomes  accustomed  to  his  pres- 
ence in  the  pulpit  and  in  their  homes,  then  he  cannot  help 
but  realize  that  his  own  faithulness  and  honesty,  and 


1 6  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

the  purity  of  his  preaching,  must  be  depended  upon  to 
make  him  a  successful  ambassador. 

The  long-time  pastor  will  frequently  be  reminded  that 
his  motives  need  rectifying  if  they  have  been  selfish  and 
unworthy,  for  unless  his  purposes  are  beneficent  and  his 
motives  generous,  he  cannot  long  hold  the  respect  of 
the  people  and  enjoy  their  support.  The  constituency 
of  a  pastorate  or  community  not  only  becomes  acquainted 
with  the  chief  traits  of  the  minister's  character,  but 
eventually  they  come  to  know  his  reason  for  doing 
things — his  inner  life. 

Laziness,  irritability,  adroitness,  selfishness,  avarice, 
slovenliness,  indifference  to  financial  obligations,  these 
cannot  be  successfully  covered  from  the  knowledge  of 
the  people  by  a  pastor  who  walks  in  and  out  before  them 
for  many  years  ;  they  gradually  learn  to  know  him  as  he 
is.  A  Jiian  of  doubtful  character  and  questionable  mo- 
tives may  manage  to  remain  in  almost  any  pastorate  for 
a-  few  years,  but  if  he  is  wrong  at  heart  the  fact  will 
make  itself  manifest.  He  must  ring  true  if  he  hopes  to 
prolong  his  labors  through  the  years  in  one  place. 

A  long  pastorate  also  gives  a  minister  stability  of  pur- 
pose, and  develops  sagacity.  With  rare  exceptions  a 
renter  will  not  exercise  the  same  care  of  a  building  as 
an  owner.  He  will  not  keep  the  fences  in  as  good  re- 
pair ;  he  will  not  be  so  particular  about  the  proper  cul- 
tivation and  enrichment  of  the  soil  as  if  he  owned  the 
farm  himself.  In  all  likelihood  he  will  plow  around  a 
stump  instead  of  digging  it  out ;  he  will  lay  the  scythe 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  17 

to  noxious  weeds  in  lieu  of  extirpating  them.  Recently, 
I  heard  a  farmer  say  that  he  could  determine  whether 
or  not  the  man  whom  he  employed  by  the  month  in- 
tended to  apply  for  work  the  next  year  by  the  manner 
in  which  he  performed  his  labor. 

When  the  short-time  pastor  anticipates  an  unpleasant 
event,  when  he  feels  that  trouble  is  brewing,  he  will  be 
sorely  tempted  to  postpone  the  crisis,  if  possible,  so  that 
his  successor  will  have  something  to  occupy  his  time  and 
develop  his  sagacity  and  judgment ;  and,  '^  for  the  sake 
of  his  wife's  health,"  he  seeks  a  new  climate  about  forty 
miles  east  or  west  of  the  coming  temptest.  But  when  a 
man  has  settled  down  in  a  pastorate  he  endeavors  to 
counteract  disruptive  influences  ;  he  prepares  to  meet 
any  inevitable  crisis,  even  emergencies  do  not  take  him 
wholly  unawares.  Such  a  man  not  only  makes  the  most 
of  the  present,  but  he  is  not  forgetful  of  the  future,  and 
accordingly  he  formulates  his  plans  for  the  erection  of  a 
new  church  edifice,  or  the  remodeling  of  the  present 
structure  if  needed.  He  keeps  in  touch  with  the  best 
methods,  and  employs  them  in  the  different  departments 
of  his  work ;  he  looks  after  the  varied  interests  of  the 
pastorate ;  he  directs  the  nurture  of  the  young,  quickly 
reclaims  the  erring,  and  never  ceases  to  warn  the  un- 
wary. In  short,  he  considers  the  interests  and  well- 
being  of  his  people  rather  than  consult  his  own  pleasure 
and  advantage.  Hence,  what  to  the  settled  pastor  be- 
comes a  steadfast  purpose,  to  the  itinerant  is  a  danger- 
ous and  pressing  temptation.     It  is  therefore  obvious 


1 8  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

that  the  advantages  of  a  long  pastorate  to  a  minister  cail 
scarcely  be  exaggerated  because  it  affords  him  the  best 
opportunities  for  study,  for  the  development  of  resource- 
fulness, self-control,  and  all  those  qualifications  which 
are  so  essential  to  a  successful  ministry. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  advantages  of  a  settled  pas- 
torate to  the  pastorate  itself.  To  the  congregation  the 
frequent  change  of  pastors  is  injurious.  It  is  in  the  na- 
ture of  a  breaking  up,  a  small  revolution. 

The  selection  of  a  new  pastor  is  a  serious  responsibil- 
ity, and  often  a  grievous  disappointment.  It  is  usually 
a  difficult  thing  for  a  people  to  adjust  themselves  to  the 
peculiarities  in  thought,  delivery,  mannerisms,  and 
methods  of  a  new  pastor  two  or  three  times  every  de- 
cade. The  frequent  change  of  pastors  in  a  congrega- 
tion is  much  like  the  employment  of  a  different  con- 
tractor every  month  while  a  building  is  in  process  of 
erection. 

A  congregation  will  not  grow  numerically  nor  spirit- 
ually, the  flock  will  not  hold  together,  the  fold  will 
have  little  attraction  for  those  without,  when  the  voice 
of  the  shepherd  is  ever  strange.  Neither  can  a  new 
pastor  lead  the  sheep  into  the  richest  pastures,  because 
they  will  follow  him  with  reluctance,  at  a  distance,  if 
not  with  suspicion. 

A  long  pastorate  enables  the  people  to  repose  their 
confidence  in  their  spiritual  leader,  for  confidence  is  a 
plant  of  slow  growth. 

When  once  the  people  have  witnessed  their  minister 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  19 

carry  himself  through  circumstances  which  try  one's 
faith,  without  losing  his  poise,  patience,  and  charity  ; 
when  once  he  has  been  repeatedly  tested  in  the  midst  of 
the  most  tempting  situations  before  their  very  eyes,  and 
has  not  failed,  then  they  will  believe  in  him,  and  it  is 
wonderful  to  what  lengths  they  will  trust  him.  All  this 
is  an  incalculable  advantage  to  a  pastorate.  It  saves  it 
from  many  difficulties  and  dangers,  and  frequently  from 
dissension  and  disruption. 

Nothing  can  be  more  encouraging  to  a  pastor's  heart 
than  to  behold  the  unmistakable  evidences  of  the  abso- 
lute confidence  of  his  people  in  his  wisdom,  integrity, 
and  fidelity  to  conviction.  But  the  price  of  such  en- 
couragement is  long  hours  of  study,  unfaltering  faith  in 
God,  unfailing  love,  and  untiring  efforts  for  the  welfare 
of  his  people  through  many  years.  How  helpful  to  a 
people  is  the  continued  acquaintance  of  a  pastor  with 
their  individual  and  family  life.  During  a  few  years  it 
is  possible  to  learn  the  names  of  all  the  members  of  a 
pastorate,  but  years  and  years  of  time  are  required  for  a 
man  to  become  so  well  acquainted  with  the  disposition 
and  history  of  a  family  that  he  will  be  able  to  understand 
much  that  is  unintelligible  to  the  ordinary  observer. 
He  learns  to  be  more  sympathetic  and  charitable  than  a 
new  pastor  could  possibly  be,  not  knowing  what  is  per- 
fectly clear  to  him.  For  this  reason  a  long-time  pastor 
can  mollify  the  asperities  and  modify  the  grievances  of 
his  people  ;  and  frequently  he  can  adjust  their  differ- 
ences, and,  by  proper   explanations,    divert  those  un- 


20  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

pleasantnesses  which  misunderstandings  so  often  bring. 
He  who  has  served  the  same  congregation  for  many 
years  is  enabled  to  see  every  new  situation  in  the  light 
of  history,  so  that  he  knows  what  plans  to  pursue,  what 
measures  to  adopt,  and  what  factors  to  introduce.  Be- 
cause he  is  familiar  with  the  chief  joys  and  sorrows,  he 
knows  precisely  how  to  direct  the  conversation,  what 
counsel  to  give,  what  knowledge  to  impart,  and  what  to 
leave  unsaid. 

Think,  too,  of  the  tremendous  advantage  of  a  settled 
pastorate  to  the  children.  Their  pastor  becomes 
acquainted  with  them  from  infancy.  He  is  one  of  the 
first  to  enter  the  home,  at  the  altar  he  baptizes  them  into 
.Christ,  in  the  catechetical  class  he  instructs  them  in  the 
things  of  God,  he  confirms  them,  officiates  at  their  mar- 
riage, and  stands  in  the  same  relation  to  their  children 
and  their  children's  children. 

Last  spring  I  confirmed  the  first  catechetical  class, 
the  members  of  which  I  baptized  in  their  infancy,  and 
it  was  a  rare  pleasure,  a  satisfaction  which  can  never 
come  to  the  man  who  is  ever  seeking  new  fields  of  labor. 
It  is  but  natural  that  the  pastor  who  has  taken  the  lambs 
in  his  arms,  who  has  fed  them  the  milk  of  God's  word, 
who  has  jealously  guarded  them  against  enemies,  is  better 
qualified  to  minister  to  their  needs  during  the  years  of 
their  maturity.  Then,  too,  such  a  pastor  can  secure 
unity  of  purpose  in  a  congregation.  By  virtue  of  his 
continued  instruction  from  the  pulpit  and  his  influence 
in  the    home,   the    people    become    increasingly    like- 


A  SETTLED  PASTORATE.  21 

minded,  and  in  unity  there  is  great  executive  strength 
as  well  as  marvelous  attractive  power — both  of  which 
work  mightily  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church. 

It  is  to  the  congregation's  inestimable  advantage  that 
the  pastor  should  remain  until  he  becomes  a  part  of  the 
people,  inseparably  linked  with  their  inner  lives,  identi- 
fied with  all  their  dearest  interests.  Unless  his  ministry 
extends  over  a  number  of  years,  he  will  leave  them 
much  as  he  found  them  in  their  way  of  thinking,  believ- 
ing, and  doing. 

There  is  no  real  reason  for  surprise  that  some  of  our 
churches  hold  unscriptural  views  and  that  many  of  their 
practices  are  un -Lutheran  when  we  remember  that  dur- 
ing the  past  twenty-five  years  they  have  had  almost  as 
many  pastors  who  resigned  before  they  had  become  fully 
conversant  with  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  people. 
Let  a  pastor  once  serve  a  people  until  he  gains  their 
implicit  confidence  and  he  can  lead  them  whither  he 
wills.  He  can  introduce  any  reasonable  methods, 
disabuse  their  minds,  correct  their  erroneous  prac- 
tices, and,  if  he  has  proved  himself  to  be  a  worthy 
and  able  leader,  he  can  revolutionize  the  whole  organi- 
zation. 

The  mere  fact  that  a  pastor  is  quite  well  known  in  a 
community  is  a  decided  advantage  to  a  congregation  in 
many  ways.  He  will  be  asked  to  officiate  at  weddings, 
his  services  will  be  secured  at  funerals  by  those  who  are 
not  identified  with  any  church,  for  the  sole  reason  that 
he  is  known,  and  through  such  ministrations  his  influ- 


2  2  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF 

ence  is  strengthened  and  people  are  persuaded  to  unite 
with  the  church.  When  a  sincere  preacher  walks  cir- 
cumspectly before  hundreds  of  people  year  after  year, 
when  his  mental  capacity  has  been  tested,  his  motives 
scrutinized,  his  purposes  analyzed,  and  his  usefulness 
proved,  criticism  is  disarmed,  and,  while  the  whole  com- 
munity is  enriched  by  his  service,  his  own  congregation 
reaps  a  particular  benefit.  When  once  the  whole  com- 
munity regards  a  minister  as  a  public  servant,  as  a  friend 
of  its  present  and  future  well-being,  when  it  looks  to 
him  for  leadership  (as  it  never  does  to  a  new-comer) 
and  authority  on  all  those  things  which  concern  the 
public  weal,  it  cannot  help  but  be  attracted  to  his  pulpit 
and  feel  kindly  toward  his  people. 

At  the  time  when  a  pastor  first  assumes  the  duties  of 
a  new  pastorate  he  is  regarded  as  ^^  the  minister,'"  and 
it  is  not  until  the  people  of  the  community  come  to 
think  of  him  as  ' '  ^  citizen  ' '  that  he  can  mingle  with 
men  in  public  matters,  that  he  will  be  able  to  create 
sentiment  in  favor  of  the  right  issue  in  municipal  affairs. 
Many  years  of  service  in  one  pastorate,  therefore,  means 
prestige,  and  prestige  means  influence,  and  the  greater 
the  influence  which  a  pastor  can  wield  in  a  community 
the  greater  are  the  benefits  which  must  accrue  to  the 
church  of  which  he  is  pastor. 

That  the  settled  pastor  is  a  man  of  large  influence  is 
proved  by  such  men  as  Richard  Storrs,  Theodore 
Cuyler,  Charles  Parkhurst,  Joseph  Seiss,  Washington 
Gladden,  who  remained  long  enough  in  one  parish  for 


A  SETTLED  TASTOR ATE.  23 

the  world  to  find  out  where  they  were.  To  all  of  us 
Beecher  and  Plymouth  are  inseparable  names.  You 
cannot  point  to  a  man  of  national  reputation  and  influ- 
ence who  belongs  to  a  denomination  having  the  itiner- 
ant system,  except  bishops,  as  John  H.  Vincent,  and 
he  because  he  is  a  bishop  permanently. 

The  idea,  prevalent  among  some  ministers,  that  a 
young  preacher  should  first  seek  a  small  parish  and  there 
practice  for  a  few  years,  then  seek  a  larger  field  and  do 
some  more  selfish  practicing,  then  under  pretense  of 
another  call  from  the  Holy  Spirit  make  another  sudden 
motion  toward  a  more  populous  town,  is  a  principle 
which,  it  seems  to  me,  is  unwise,  un -Lutheran,  un- 
scriptural.  The  population  of  a  town  is  by  no  means 
to  be  regarded  uniformly  as  the  true  measure  of  a  pas- 
tor's ability  and  influence.  It  is  rather  the  size  and  the 
piety  of  his  congregation  which  determine  these.  The 
people  of  any  community  have  practically  the  same  de- 
sires, needs,  and  capacities,  so  that  it  ought  to  be  the 
determined  purpose  and  the  holy  ambition  of  a  pastor 
to  build  up  a  large  and  righteous  congregation,  no  difler- 
ence  where  he  may  be  laboring. 

If  a  man  has  the  indomitable  will,  the  tireless  energy, 
and  the  unreserved  consecration,  he  can  not  only  build 
up  a  congregation  numerically,  but  he  can  develop  his 
people  in  liberality,  loyalty,  piety,  intelligence,  culture, 
and  refinement.  He  can  cultivate  their  taste  for  any 
and  every  thing  that  is  uplifting  and  edifying,  and  he 
can  fashion  them  according  to  any  type. 


24     THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  A  SETTLED  PASTORATE. 

As  to  how  long  a  minister  should  remain  in  one  pas- 
torate depends,  for  the  most  part,  not  so  much  on  the 
congregation  as  upon  the  pastor's  ability,  his  diligence, 
sincerity,  discretion,  and  faithfulness. 

It  matters  very  little  where  he  labors,  but  the  pastor 
must  work  with  a  contented  mind,  for  he  can  never  be 
at  his  best  with  one  eye  open  for  a  more  pleasant  parish, 
than  the  deacon's  wife  can  be  attentive  to  morning 
prayer  while  counting  the  number  of  new  hats  in  the 
congregation. 

If  you  would  do  a  work  which  shall  survive  the  years 
of  your  own  life,  if  you  would  stamp  your  own  person- 
ality on  the  world  as  a  servant  of  the  Most  High,  if  you 
would  do  your  utmost  to  assist  in  the  spiritualizing  of 
humanity,  then  be  not  as  anxious  to  "  get  up  "  in  the 
world  as  to  ' '  build  up  ' '  in  the  most  holy  faith  those 
who  are  committed  to  your  oversight. 

Again  I  say,  it  is  not  where  you  are  that  is  of  cardinal 
importance,  but  what  you  are  doing  where  you  are. 


DATE  DUE 

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